Sunday, July 20, 2008

According to a poll conducted by NPR, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health, it appears that lower income families are more concerned about expenses than those in the middle and upper income categories. Of interviewees with incomes below $40,000 per year, 47%, or nearly half, said that they considered "getting a good-paying job / raise in pay" a serious problem. Of those in the lower income category, those who felt that losing a job or paying mortgage or rent is a serious problem were 28% and 27% respectively.

The poll results appeared in connection with this story, featuring the economic trials of Gloria Nunez, who has "never worked and has no high school degree". The information here could serve as a warning to our children: Stay in school, or you might wind up in subsidized housing, living on Social Security and food stamps, and being interviewed by the NPR. According to this NPR story, Gloria doesn't even get to eat meat.

But if I were you, I wouldn't let the kids see this chart. They might conclude that, if 72% of folks in the lower income category are not seriously concerned about paying the mortgage or rent, blowing off that education might not be such a bad idea. Apparently, for roughly 70% of people making under $40k, paying for food, credit card or personal debt, losing a job, and paying for education are not "serious concerns", either. Now, you know how kids think, focused on their own comfort, minimizing effort, ducking responsibility. If they see those numbers, they might decide that even for this demographic, life in America is - I think the word is - phat.

(H/T Youchki)

Note: The poll examined health care and the economy in two swing states (Ohio and Florida).